Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan
ISTANBUL
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan highlighted Friday the need for an agreement between Iran and the US, as both have the will to engage in negotiations following a period of airstrikes and heightened tensions.
Fidan answered questions related to current events during a live television broadcast where he said the meeting between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and US President Donald Trump at a NATO summit in The Hague had been planned.
He said regional issues, particularly the Gaza Strip, Russia-Ukraine and Iran, were discussed and that the meeting was very constructive and went well.
Fidan said European leaders had taken note of Trump's message that defense spending by NATO members was insufficient. NATO members had reached a consensus on increasing defense spending to 5% in two separate items – 3.5% for core defense expenditures and up to 1.5% for cybersecurity, critical infrastructure, and industrial capacity-building, in the next 10 years.
Asked about next year's NATO summit in Türkiye, Fidan noted it was last held there in 2004. "Now it's 2026, and as you know, we applied last year and were accepted to host it in Istanbul. Our president is currently considering and consulting on whether it will be Istanbul or Ankara. There are currently two separate opinions on this matter. He (Erdogan) will make the decision."
Regarding the conflict that began with Israel's attacks on Iran, Fidan said, “As you know, we are both closely following and involved in all developments in the region. Most of the time as mediators. Because it is in our interest and in the interest of our region that wars do not break out and that existing ones come to an end.”
He noted that he said in the first week of the attacks on Gaza that “a war between Iran and Israel was coming,” adding that, "Israel's attack on Iran pushed Iran into a position of legitimate defense, and it became clear that Israel is not as powerful a country as it claims to be in terms of destroying Iran's nuclear capabilities. It only exposed its own reckoning.”
Fidan noted that domestic political moves by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also played a role in Israeli foreign policy.
He said the world saw that “there is a political mind there that does not hesitate to set the region on fire for its own interests.”
‘Region needs to be on alert’
“This war has been temporarily halted in 12 days, but there is a ceasefire based on the assumption that nuclear capabilities have been eliminated. In fact, the region needs to be on alert against the possibility of the ceasefire being broken and mutual attacks resuming,” said Fidan.
Emphasizing that the war imposed a huge cost, not only on the two countries but also on the region, Fidan said, "As you know, there is a distance of over 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) between the two countries, and there is no border. Therefore, it is a war that crosses borders and involves different countries. There is currently a period of silence, but to make this more permanent, an agreement between Iran and the United States is necessary."
In response to questions about the Iranian nuclear capacity, Fidan stated that the nuclear issue is only one aspect of the ongoing process between Israel and Iran, and there are other factors involved.
”It is clear that as a result of the military operation carried out by the United States, the nuclear facilities in Iran have been largely damaged and rendered unusable,” he said.
Noting that the nuclear program has many components and the facilities have been severely damaged, Fidan acknowledged that there was a "clear and serious" blow to Iran’s nuclear program.
"The biggest challenge ahead of us is the negotiations. To be frank, when Iran sits down at the table, will the Americans only bring up the nuclear issue, or will they bring up other issues as well? If they bring up other issues, I don't think the Iranians will discuss them, to be honest. However, on nuclear issues, I honestly believe that there will be an effort to reach an understanding, similar to the agreement that existed during the Obama administration,” he said
Fidan highlighted, however, that he does not think proposals that would mean total surrender and demand the elimination of capabilities other than nuclear ones will be warmly welcomed by Tehran at this point.
Fidan-Rubio talks
Fidan responded to a question about allegations that he received a call from US Secretary of State Marco Rubio the night Israel attacked Iran, saying that “such a conversation took place.”
He said the US conveyed that “since they did not take part in the attack, they had no role in it, and therefore the Iranians should not attack them, and if they did, they would respond very harshly.” He also said that the US mentioned “some issues regarding their concern for the safety of the American presence in the region.”
Fidan said the US then contacted the Iranians and conveyed that “the US would not play a role in the event of an attack, and therefore they did not want the US to intervene in a way that would draw them into the war, acting as a mediator.”
Regarding claims that Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian would meet in Türkiye, Fidan said, “Let me say this: Due to the trust in our president's leadership, the most advanced proposals and situations were brought to the agenda, but I will not comment on them.”
Responding to a question about whether the US would get involved in the situation following Israel's attacks on Iran and if Araghchi would make his first statement on the matter in Türkiye on June 21, Fidan said: "When we met with our Iranian counterpart on Saturday, the Americans were not at war.
"More precisely, the Americans did not express any intention to engage in an all-out war like the Israelis did. There was an issue regarding nuclear facilities. The current thinking is that the Israelis are constantly on the move to eliminate these facilities and the threat they pose, while the Iranians are retaliating. They then begin to strike other targets, and this war will become more protracted, more exhausting, and more widespread. So, in a way, the main idea that prompted action was the thought that if the nuclear facilities were eliminated, there might be a slowdown in this regard. Of course, whether they strike a nuclear facility or another location, it is still a matter of war."
Fidan gave an account of his conversation with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in the aftermath of the US strikes.
"The next day, when we spoke with our Iranian colleague, our basic advice was, of course, to first understand what the Americans' intentions were. Is it a total destructive war, or is it limited to nuclear facilities? It seems that it is limited to nuclear facilities. This is part of Iran's strategy, as has been seen before. In our meeting, I saw that he also conveyed this message: 'If this limited activity remains as it is, our response will also be limited.' This was an important message. We conveyed this message. Of course, Iran discussed this internally. They reached a point. And then, as Mr. Trump himself stated in his own post (on social media), through mutual communication and agreement, it became a matter of 'you hit my spot, I will hit yours, but I will limit myself to this spot.'"
Fidan noted a similar incident had occurred when Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the Quds Force, was assassinated in 2020.
"There, too, a similar preliminary understanding was reached during the retaliation so that there would be no further escalation. This is actually one of the rarest situations in the history of war," he said.
Possibility of US-Iran reconciliation
When asked whether negotiations about Iran’s nuclear program would resume and if Türkiye would play a mediating role if the talks happen, Fidan noted that Erdogan has stated Türkiye’s readiness for any role.
"But there are preliminary indications that the process initiated in Oman a few years ago will be reactivated. Perhaps they will want to try it again. Frankly, I think they can reach an agreement on nuclear issues,” Fidan said.
"As I said, there is a possibility of compromise here. Especially after the recent attack on nuclear facilities. But of course, I cannot speak on behalf of both countries. When talking to officials from both countries, I did have some ideas that would help them meet in the middle,” he stated.
The minister emphasized the need for creative ideas to tackle the issue because both sides are coming from very distant starting positions.
“The Americans' starting position is that there should be no enrichment activities in Iran. The Iranians argue that peaceful nuclear enrichment is a right derived from international law and agreements. As you know, they are supporters of the nuclear agreement and the NPT (Non-proliferation Treaty)," he said.
***Fidan pointed out that sanctions were imposed as a result of a vote on Iran's nuclear resources years ago saying, "There is also another balance: the five permanent members are all nuclear-armed countries, and it is impossible for them to agree on anything in the current situation. However, they are in agreement on not allowing a sixth country to possess nuclear weapons. But there is no effort to reduce the number to four, three, or two. Because, in the end, no one trusts anyone."�
